Creamy Rice with Scallops Recipe

This recipe is impressive enough for company but easy enough for a weeknight. Smoky, salty bacon tastes delicious with naturally sweet foods like corn and scallops. Here, we combined all three ingredients in this sophisticated risotto-like dish made with Arborio rice. We recommend sea scallops for this recipe. The smaller bay scallops are not large enough to get a good sear without overcooking. For a crisp, golden brown sear, ensure the pan is very hot and pat the scallops dry with a paper towel before adding them to the pan. Instead of stirring the charred corn into the rice, you can serve it over the scallops, if you prefer.

Ingredients

2 cups uncooked Arborio rice

4 cups chicken broth

1 cup water

1 thyme sprig

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 3/4 teaspoons kosher salt, divided

1/2 teaspoon black pepper, divided

1 cup half-and-half

4 thick-cut bacon slices

2 cups fresh yellow corn kernels (about 3 ears)

1 1/2 pounds dry sea scallops

2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives

How to Make It

Step 1

Combine rice, chicken broth, and water in a large pot over high, and bring to a boil. Stir in thyme sprig, butter, 1 1⁄2 teaspoons of the salt, and 1⁄4 teaspoon of the pepper. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and cook until rice is tender and most of the liquid is absorbed, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat, and take out thyme. Stir in half-and-half. Cover to keep warm.

Step 2

While rice is cooking, cook bacon in a large cast-iron skillet over medium, turning occasionally, until crisp, about 10 minutes. Transfer bacon to paper towels to drain, reserving drippings in skillet. Crumble bacon, and set aside.

Step 3

Place skillet with drippings over high, and add corn. Cook, stirring often, until corn begins to char, about 4 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, remove corn from skillet, and stir into cooked rice.

Step 4

Place skillet with remaining drippings over medium-high. Sprinkle scallops with remaining 1⁄4 teaspoon each salt and pepper, and sear in hot drippings until charred, about 1 minute per side. Stir bacon into warm rice. Serve scallops over creamy rice mixture sprinkled with chopped chives.